Ubaldo pleased with bullpen session

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Ubaldo Jimenez threw a 35-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday and also performed what he called "old school" running drills to test his right ankle, with the next step throwing to hitters on Friday in Seattle.

"It went good," Jimenez said after the session. "I was able to get on the mound and throw all my pitches. I was able to throw from the stretch and the windup, and they made me do a couple of drills, running drills, to make sure I'd be able to go to first base."

Jimenez was originally slated to throw in a rehab game on Wednesday, but he was favoring the ankle too much, and the O's decided to slow him down. Manager Buck Showalter said on Tuesday that things were going slowly enough that the club was considering sending Jimenez to Baltimore or their spring complex in Sarasota, Fla., but Wednesday's session was encouraging.

"Right now it's more of a health issue," Showalter said of getting Jimenez ready to pitch in a rehab game. "There's a different level here. He has to do that, he knows that. He may have to [pitch for an affiliate] more than once."

Jimenez struggled when healthy, with a 4.52 ERA and 3-8 record in the first half, but Showalter said they aren't slowing him down to avoid the pending roster crunch.

"[A return for] Ubaldo is not imminent. Those things seem to have a way of working themselves out," Showalter said. "All five of our [starters] have shown themselves pretty well lately. We are not delaying anything with Ubaldo; we want him to help us as soon as possible."

Following Friday's session, the team will have a better idea of when and how long Jimenez will need for a rehab assignment.

Back spasms keeping Machado on bench

ANAHEIM -- Third baseman Manny Machado was out of the lineup again on Wednesday night, as he's still dealing with the back spasms that crept up during Tuesday's batting practice.

Machado, who was a late scratch on Tuesday, was encouraged with the fact that he felt better and was optimistic that he'll only be sidelined a few days.

"I was kind of bummed out by it last night," Machado said. "When I woke up, it felt a little better, and I came in here and got some treatment and I'm feeling much better. I assume that's a good sign for that. We're just going to feed off that and keep going."

The plan for Machado on Wednesday was to get treatment and see how the back progresses, with nothing definitive on him trying to swing or take some grounders.

"It's a lot better," manager Buck Showalter said. "I look for him to be back shortly, depending on how you define the word shortly."

In Machado's absence, Ryan Flaherty has been manning third.

O's get extra Draft pick thanks to lottery

ANAHEIM -- The Orioles will once again have an additional pick in next year's Draft.

The lottery for next year's competitive balance picks was held in New York on Wednesday, and the O's received the fifth selection in Group B, which is immediately after the second round. Basically, it's like a third-round pick, and the Orioles, who last year sent their competitive balance pick to the Astros as part of the Bud Norris trade, were one of 12 teams to get an extra pick.

Introduced when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement began in December 2011, the Competitive Balance Lottery gives teams that have either one of the 10 smallest markets or 10 smallest revenue pools one of six additional choices after each of the first and second rounds. In addition, any other clubs that receive revenue-sharing funds are eligible for the supplemental second-round selections.

Fifteen teams were eligible to receive a pick in this year's lottery -- the Twins and Mariners were eligible for a Round B selection only by virtue of having received revenue sharing. The Pirates, Rays and Royals were not selected.